'Don't whine about the weather, make wine' Michael Gove tells farmers

As farmers struggle to feed livestock because grass fields are dry and climate change experts warn the summer heatwave is set to become the norm Environment Secretary Michael Gove has found an upside - better British wine.

He told an audience at the Countryfile Live event that English sparkling wine now regularly beats champagne in taste tests and as the UK adjusts to higher global temperatures there are opportunities to produce much more wine.

Wine is already a growing business in the UK with production up by around two million more bottles in the last 12 months and this year is expected to provide an even higher yield thanks to the hot weather.

Gove said: "Whatever else Brexit may bring, it will bring English sparlking wine, providing a level of cheer to British drinkers, greater than that provided by French champagne."

It's not clear how many people voted to leave the EU on the basis that they didn't like champagne however UK farmers are known to be anxious about the effects of climate change and awaiting details on what the subsidy regime will look like after Brexit.

Gove's decision to trash talk champagne the day before Theresa May is due to meet her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to discuss Brexit is unlikely to be seen as helpful either.